Online sales during the holiday season are expected to increase by as much as 22% over 2017. E-commerce is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. So how do you make sure that your business also can grow as well?

If you want your e-commerce business to dominate the competition, you have to create a broad plan. Winning companies occupy multiple sectors using optimization, social media channels, paid ads, and more. Because of this, it’s more critical than ever to have a solid e-commerce strategy before entering the holiday season.

1. Invest in Paid Social Media

When many businesses are starting up their social media presence, they primarily take organic posting into account (i.e. posting a fun picture on their profile for followers to see). This might generate likes and shares, but is this generating revenue?

Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter offer specialized ad plans for businesses. You can create custom CTAs to help acquire the business you want. Using location targeting and limiting by interests can also help you spend effectively. This way, instead of broadcasting your message, you can narrowcast to specific audiences that are more likely to convert.

2. Use Retargeting

People that have seen your products, but bounced from your website are still prospects. It’s easier to convert someone that knows about your product versus a cold lead. Retargeting (also known as remarketing) can help advertise to people that have already visited your site.

One of the most common ways of setting up retargeting is via Facebook Pixel. You simply take the Pixel from Facebook, place it on your website, and gather information which can then be used to advertise. Other services exist to advertise on non-Facebook platforms, such as retargeting, Marketing 360, and more.

3. Integrate APIs to Your Sales Process

The more a prospect has to work, the less likely they are to buy your stuff. Lengthy login screens, inputting credit card information, and long forms turn away customers. Instead, integrate those processes using APIs.

If a prospect needs to create an account to buy products, you can use the Facebook API so they can log in with that info.

Additionally, you can shorten your own processes through APIs. If you have an issue, investigate APIs to streamline services. Automate product fulfillment and tracking by using shipping APIs. Communicate with prospects by finding and using the best chatbot.

4. Build a Holiday Landing Page

Many businesses will optimize content they already have. Instead, invest the time and resources to examine holiday-based queries, then generate content and product categories that fulfill this intent.

For instance, if you’re a cookie delivery business, you may see a sudden increase in pumpkin-related queries in store during the fall. You could translate this into an online strategy by building ads that tell possible prospects they can deliver pumpkin cookies as a gift this holiday season. You can add more interest by adding a landing page for customers to go to that would instantly create a cookie delivery, helping them achieve their goal faster.

5. Get Users to Reactivate Their Deleted Accounts

If you’ve had users that have shut down their accounts, send an email coupled with an incentive to reactivate. Much like remarketing, reacquiring someone that used to use your product is much easier than acquiring a brand new prospect.

Make sure the email is sent prior to the massive influx of holiday sales. That way, you can encourage these formerly-lapsed customers to purchase products with you. Couple your incentive with several of the holiday sales to encourage re-enrollment even more.

6. Publicize Links to Charities

43% of global consumers are willing to spend more on products if they support a cause. You should be attracting that kind of consumer. As more and more businesses start to reconsider their efforts of “conscious capitalism” you too can capitalize on this effort. Programs like Amazon Smile declare that a percentage of their sales go to a charity of your choice.

While you don’t necessarily need to add that flexibility for your e-commerce side (we understand that development is expensive), you can pledge to donate a portion of holiday sales to a charity of your choosing.

There are many different tactics that you can take to attract and convert business this holiday season. Ultimately, it boils down to two things: planning and strategy. While this quarter can be a flurry of activity, you have to make time for your team to think comprehensively about goals. From there, you can work hard to accomplish your businesses goals and guarantee a merry little Christmas.

Nick Rojas

Nick Rojas is a self-taught, serial entrepreneur who’s enjoyed success working with and consulting for startups. He concentrates on teaching small and medium sized enterprises how best to manage their social media marketing and define their branding objectives.